Jamaica's best for Hi-Pro Tennis

Former Davis Cup stars Ryan Russell and Jermaine 'Giant' Smith are two of the players already down to compete in the Hi-Pro Ace Supercentre Tennis Open, scheduled for August 9-14 at the Liguanea Club, New Kingston.

Russell and Smith will be joined by the likes of current Davis Cup national representatives Damian Johnson, Dwayne Pagon, Malcolm McKoy and Andre Burrell.

This "mega tennis event", promoted by Tennis Jamaica with sponsorship from the Jamaica Broilers Group, promises to be a very exciting one, as the past and present players will be competing for a share of $1 million in cash prizes. The winner of the men's open will take home $500,000 while the women's champion will pocket $100,000.

Former national player Dominic Pagon, as well as Daniel Harris, the current national junior champion, and junior player Andrew Bicknell are also expected to play. A few foreign players, including Bahamian Davis Cup player Devin Mullings and Barbadian Haydn Lewis, are also down to compete.

The women's draw should also prove quite competitive, with the likes of collegiate player Simone Vranova-Brown and Carlista Mohammed of Trinidad and Tobago expected to compete alongside some of Jamaica's promising female players.

Aubyn Hill, president of Tennis Jamaica, said that his organisation is thrilled to be staging this "grand tennis event" in association with Hi-Pro Ace Supercentre.

"This event is in keeping with our strategic plan to present high-quality tennis events to raise the standard of the game here and to pique the interest of others. With over 64 entries expected on the men's side and 16 entries for the women's draw, this is a clear sign that tennis is back," Hill added.